This collection is related to the political relations between US and China and those between China and other states (UK, France, Germany, Japan, and Portugal). It consists mainly of instructions to and despatches from diplomatic and consular officials, often accompanied with enclosures. Also included are correspondence, reports, and journals of the commissions concerned with extraterritoriality in China, as well as notes between the State Department and foreign diplomatic representatives in the U.S., memoranda prepared by Department officials, and correspondence with officials of other government departments and with private firms and individuals.
